World Blood Donor Day 2019: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis appeals to people to use Facebook Blood Donation feature to donate blood

On the occasion of the World Blood Donor Day, Chief Minister of Maharastra Devendra Fadnavis has appealed to people to start using Facebook's blood donation feature.

"On #WorldBloodDonorDay , I appeal everyone to do our bit by donating blood at least once a year, which will help save lives and reduce the gap! Let us pledge for it ! Also use powerful tool of social media. Use @facebook feature on blood donation! #DonateBlood #SafeBloodForAll," Fadnavis said in his tweet.

READ | Facebook will now notify users if nearby blood banks need blood donation

How to become a blood donor on Facebook

We show you how to opt-in to become Blood Donor on Facebook and receive alerts from your nearby blood banks:

1. Open a web browser application on your computer and navigate to https://www.facebook.com/donateblood
2. Click on the option 'Sign Up' to enroll yourself in Facebook's Blood Donation program
3. Once again, click on the Sign Up option to agree to Facebook's Program Terms

You will receive a confirmation, reading: "We'll notify you when nearby blood banks need your help. Now, inspire friends to become blood donors too."

Facebook says more than 35 million people have signed up to be blood donors on Facebook in Bangladesh, Brazil, India and Pakistan where this feature is available. After successfully testing the Blood Donation feature in India, Facebook is finally expanding it to several US cities.

Hema Budaraju, Product Director, Health at Facebook, had this to say in her official blog post:

"Every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood, and one donation can potentially save three lives. However, blood banks in the US are seeing a decline in blood donors."

As part of this initiative, Facebook has partnered with America’s Blood Centers, the American Red Cross, Inova, New York Blood Center, Rock River Valley Blood Center, Stanford Blood Center, Versiti and Vitalant.